No Time Like the Past
"No Time Like the Past" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode a man tries to escape the troubles of the 20th century by taking up residence in an idyllic small town in the 19th century. Opening narration Plot Disgusted with 20th century problems such as world wars, atomic weapons and radioactive poisoning, Paul Driscoll (Dana Andrews) solicits the help of his colleague Harvey (Robert F. Simon) and uses a time machine, intent to remake the present by altering past events. Paul first travels to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and attempts to warn a Hiroshima police captain about the atomic bomb, but the captain dismisses him as insane. Paul then travels to a Berlin hotel room to assassinate Adolf Hitler in August 1939 (immediately before the outbreak of World War II the following month), but is interrupted when a housekeeper knocks on his door and later calls two SS guards to his room. On his third stop, Paul tries to change the course of the ''Lusitania'' on May 6, 1915 to avoid being torpedoed by a German U-boat, but the ship’s captain questions his credibility. Paul accepts the hypothesis that the past cannot be changed. He then uses the time machine to go to the town of Homeville, Indiana in 1881, resolving not to make any changes, but just to live out his life free of the problems of the modern age. Upon his arrival, he realizes that President James A. Garfield will be shot the next day, but resists the temptation to intervene. He stays at a boarding house in town and meets Abigail Sloan (Patricia Breslin), a teacher. At one of the boarding house’s dinners, a boarder named Hanford vehemently espouses American imperialism. Paul delivers an angry rebuttal in which he accuses Hanford of speaking from ignorance of war and a certainty that he himself will not have to take part in any fighting, while dropping numerous allusions to wars that have yet to take place. Abigail is impressed and privately tells him that she shares his views, having lost her father and two brothers in the American Civil War. He kisses Abigail, but she becomes alienated when he refuses to explain his earlier remarks about future wars. A passing remark from a local musician (John Zaremba) jogs a memory from Paul's vast historical knowledge: Homeville's schoolhouse will burn down because of a kerosene lantern ejected from a runaway wagon, badly injuring twelve children. He resolves to keep his vow not to change the past, but when he spies the lantern in question he tries to unhitch the horses. The resulting altercation with the wagon owner causes the horses to run wild, inadvertently causing the fire he intended to prevent. Afterward, Paul tells Abigail that "the past is sacred" and belongs to those who are native to it. He knows too much of the future and fears that he will inevitably cause more mishaps like the schoolhouse fire because of it. He returns to his own time and declares that instead of continuing to fixate upon the past, he will now try to do something to positively impact the future. Closing narration Notes In the Twilight Zone radio drama series with Stacy Keach as the narrator, the first three time travel destinations perpetrated by Driscoll are inverted. He first attempts to board the Lusitania, then attempts to assassinate Hitler, and finally attempts to warn and evacuate Hiroshima. The rest of the story matches with the TV script however. See also *Fatalism *Back There and Of Late I Think of Cliffordville – other Twilight Zone episodes about a man who tries to change history by traveling to the past. *Profile in Silver - an episode from the 1985 The Twilight Zone series about trying to change history by traveling to the past. References *DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. *Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. External links * * Category:1963 American television episodes Category:The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 4) episodes Category:Television episodes about time travel Category:Fictional wars Category:Television episodes written by Rod Serling Category:Fiction set in 1881 Category:Fiction set in 1915 Category:Fiction set in 1939 Category:Fiction set in 1945 Category:Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in popular culture Category:Television episodes set in Indiana Category:Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler Category:Television episodes about World War II Category:Television episodes set in Berlin Category:Television episodes set in Japan Category:Television episodes about nuclear war and weapons